


Somebody Told Me

by Thuklet



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, M/M, au where Connor is alive, mostly angst, some fluff I guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-01 11:10:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11485137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thuklet/pseuds/Thuklet
Summary: It was only a rumor. That was all.





	1. The Rumor

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is my first work here on Ao3.
> 
> This was written in response to a music prompt, so this is heavily inspired by the song Somebody Told Me by The Killers. This first chapter is really fast paced and was kinda written in a hurry but heck this chapter is awful.

It was only a rumor. That was all. Just a stupid thing someone had said to bother him. But why would someone care enough to bother him? He wasn’t popular enough for people to be envious him, and he wasn’t unpopular enough for people to want to hurt him. Jared’s mind raced as he paced around his small bedroom, considering and dismissing a million different possibilities. This could be bad. This could be really bad. No, he remembered, it’s just a rumor. Stop overthinking it. 

He knew there was nothing to worry about. He knew this, but it still couldn’t stop him from eventually reaching for his phone. He stared at his contacts for a moment, trying to decide what he should say. His brain was racked with worry as he began typing, his fingers shaking with each letter.

Evan, we need to talk.

He put his phone back on the shelf and flopped down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He decided not to think about anything and instead focus on a random shadow on his ceiling. He slowly traced its outline with his eyes as he waited for a text from Evan. Jared had no idea how long had passed with no response before he heard a loud knock on the door. This confused him, as no one was supposed to be home for another three or four hours. Grumbling, Jared stood up and walked to a window to see who was outside. He stared out the window in shock when he realized it was Evan. Why was he here?  
Confused, Jared picked up his phone again and realized with horror that he had 18 new messages and 3 missed calls. 

Mentally facepalming for not having his ringer turned on, Jared dashed to the door, preparing himself for the conversation that faced him. They would just talk about it, Evan would dismiss it, everything would be fine. He took a deep breath, turned the knob, and pulled open the door.

“Jared! Are you okay? I got your message and you didn’t respond to my calls and I thought you might be in trouble and I...”

“Evan,” Jared said, holding back laughter as he placed a hand on Evan’s shoulder as he continued to ramble, “I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to you.”

Evan seemed to calm down when he heard this, though he still acted as if he was worried about something. Jared walked into the house and gestured for Evan to follow, and without a word they walked to the living room and sat down on Jared’s faded brown couch.

“S-so what did you want to talk about?” Evan asked.

Jared hesitated for a moment, considering how he was going to approach this. “Well… it’s really stupid but… I heard a rumor at school about you, and I guess… I just wanted to tell you so you could deny it and we could get on with our lives.”

“Okay,” Evan said, looking very concerned, “what’s the rumor?”

“Do you know anyone by the name of Connor Murphy?”

Evan tensed. That was suspicious. “N-no,” he stammered, his face turning pale. That was suspicious. “I-I mean I k-know he goes to our s-school but… I’ve n-never talked to him I guess.”

Evan was a terrible liar. His stammering only managed to confirm Jared’s worst fear. “Really?” he said, raising an eyebrow, “because I heard that you and him were close friends.”

Evan looked utterly terrified now. “W-why… who told you that?”

“I cannot disclose that information,” Jared stated plainly, crossing his arms, “now, explain.”

“He asked me out and I.. I couldn’t say no…”

“You couldn’t say no?” Jared couldn't stay calm anymore. “You couldn’t just tell him you already have a fucking boyfriend? Am I not good enough for you?”

Evan looked close to tears as he struggled to find words. “It’s just… he seemed so sad and I th-thought I might be able cheer him up…”

“Unbelievable,” Jared was fuming at this point, struggling to regain his composure, “How long has this been going on behind my back?”

“Jared… I love you… and I love Connor,” Evan said, and Jared noticed a few tears rolling down his cheeks. “I just.. Can’t…” Evan trailed off, staring at Jared, a conflicted look in his eyes.

“Unbelievable,” Jared repeated. He wanted to cry. He wanted to curl up in a ball and just stay there until he died. Evan was the one good thing in his life, the one thing he really cared for, and Jared was losing him. He wanted so badly to crumble right then and there, but he didn’t want to seem weak, “get out of my house.”

“Jared.. Please… let me explain.”

Jared didn’t want to hear it. “Get out!” He shouted.

“I’m so sorry…” Evan said quietly.

“Fuck you, Evan!” Jared shouted from down the hallway. Evan didn’t make any further attempts to communicate as Jared ran back to his room, and Jared heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Evan was gone.


	2. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for all the support on the first chapter! Actually though every single kudos and comment I get is like snuggling a kitten. If I didn't reply to your comment on the last chapter I definitely saw it, I just might not have replied because I have crippling anxiety and talking to people is hard wooooo. But here's this week's chapter!

Evan had stared down the hallway that Jared had vanished through for quite some time before he finally gave up and slowly walked out of the house. The walk home was especially painful as he thought about the events of today, and how he could have handled it so much better. Evan hadn’t been lying when he said that he loved Jared. He really did, but he loved Connor as well. He loved them both so much that losing one of them was like losing part of himself. Evan glanced down at his arm that had been in a cast for so long. Losing Jared was like when he broke his arm; part of him just stopped working. Of course losing Jared was much, much worse.

Another issue was the mystery of how Jared had found out. He’d said that he heard a rumor, but Evan hadn’t told anyone about him and Connor, for the purpose of avoiding this exact situation. Had Connor told someone? They had agreed to keep it secret while Evan sorted things out with Jared, so who else could have possibly known? Then Evan realized. Zoe. It was inevitable that Connor’s sister would have found out, and she must have told her friends, and from there the rumor only grew.

Evan shuddered as he thought about the damage that could be done in the next few days of school before realizing that he was walking past his house. He quickly dashed inside and ran up to his room. Not surprisingly, his mom wasn’t home, but as Evan ran passed the dining room he could see a note and an envelope, probably money for him to buy food with. Evan didn’t care, however, and didn’t give the table a second glance as he entered his room and sat down on the bed.

Today could not have gone worse. Evan held his head in his hands and curled up into a ball of sadness. He briefly contemplated calling Connor, but decided against it. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. So there Evan lay, weakly attempting to find some good in this situation, for who knows how long. He lay there in agonizing consciousness while his brain refused to quiet down. He just sat there in silence, and when the first streaks of dawn started fluttering through his window, Evan wasn’t sure if he had gotten any sleep at all.

\--------

Evan was terrified as he somehow managed to crawl out of bed that morning and drag himself to school. Of course, the first half of the day was hell, considering that most of his time was spent desperately avoiding making eye contact with Jared. Jared actually seemed rather unfazed by Evan’s presence, and Evan hoped that he had found some understanding with Evan.

Then, however, it was time for lunch, which meant Evan would get to see Connor. As Evan walked into the cafeteria he spotted him at a table in the far corner, alone. Before Evan had met Connor he had noticed how he always sat alone. He never attempted to reach out to anyone, and in return no one reached out to him. Until Evan. 

Connor was staring off blankly into space, and was so lost in some thought that he jumped when Evan sat down beside him. “Evan!” He exclaimed happily upon seeing him. Connor immediately noticed something was up when he saw the worry sprawled across Evan’s face, “Is something wrong?”

Evan struggled to find words. He stuttered for a few seconds, trying and failing to form a logical sentence. Eventually, Evan figured out how to speak. He began regaling Connor with the tale of what happened. By the end he was nearly in tears again.

“Oh..." Connor said when Evan had finished, “I’m so sorry, Evan.” That was one of the reasons why Evan loved Connor. He could be so supportive. When Connor found out about Evan and Jared, he had given Evan time to sort things out. Unlike… 

“Maybe there’s a bright side here,” Connor said after a few moments of silence. “I mean, now that people know, and Jared… maybe we don’t have to sneak around as much anymore?”

Evan smiled at the thought. Perhaps he could just forget about Jared and be with Connor. He still loved both of them with all of his heart, but he’d have to choose eventually. “Yeah… I’m sorry I dragged you into this, I’m pretty sure I’ve already broken up with Jared so…” Evan held out his hand to Connor, “officially dating?”

Connor hesitated for a second, and Evan realized how stupid he had been. Connor didn’t want to date him. No. He was just… taking pity on Evan. Yes, that was it. Evan started shaking and his hand started dropping. To his surprise, Connor laughed a genuine laugh and grabbed Evan’s hand, shaking it firmly. “Absolutely.” He smiled.

With the official agreement signed, Connor couldn’t handle Evan’s adorableness anymore and brought him into a tight hug. Connor was warm and soft, and Evan felt very safe in his arms.

\-------

Jared stared across the cafeteria at Evan and Connor. They seemed too happy. Jared hated how quickly Evan had moved on from him. Jealousy spiked up inside him as he stared at Connor, and realized with a start that Connor was staring right back at him. Connor was glaring at Jared in a very menacing way, and honestly Jared felt a little scared of him in that moment. Jared had lost, and Connor was going to make sure he knew it.

It had to be Connor. Of course. None other that Connor fucking Murphy would steal Evan from him.

He sighed and stood up from the table, breaking the standoff with Connor, and walked out of the room. He didn’t feel hungry, and he definitely didn’t feel like having to watch Evan and Connor. He walked out at sat down at a small table in the lobby. Jared sat there and stared at the fading paint on the wall at tried not to think about anything. His valorous attempts were halted, however, by someone running up to him.

“Jared! I-”

“What do you want?” Jared tried to place as much venom in his voice as possible to convey that he didn’t want to talk. This was difficult, as Jared was also trying not to cry, and his voice ended up cracking as he spoke, and he hope to god that Evan hadn’t noticed.

“I… uhm… well you probably already knew this but Connor and I are… together…”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“Yeah… and we’re… I mean l-like… you and me… we’re not… right?”

“Evan what the fuck.” Evan gave a weak smile. Jared wanted to smack him. They stared at each other in awkward silence for a minute before Evan suddenly spoke.

“I’m breaking up with you Jared.” Evan spoke fast and surprisingly confidently.

“No shit,” Jared replied “I thought that yesterday was proof enough of that but I guess not.” Jared decided he was done with today, and began walking toward the office.

“Jared, where are you going?” Evan called after him. Jared was going home. Anywhere but here. He was done. He didn’t care. He didn’t want to say another word to Evan today. “O-okay then… just, please don’t bother me and Connor.”

Jared stopped and glanced back at Evan. His gaze was so full of fire that Evan flinched, which Jared took a small amount of satisfaction in. Jared turned back down the hallway and kept walking away.

He’ll be fine. Evan thought to himself. After he’s cooled down, he’d be just fine, back to normal Jared, memes and bath bombs. Evan decided that he might have been a bit to harsh about it though. He’d have to apologize to Jared tomorrow. He hope Jared would still let Evan be his friend, but that seemed unlikely. All he could do at this point was hope. Yes, Evan would talk to Jared tomorrow.

Jared wasn’t at school the next day. Or the day after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h e CK


End file.
